UN investigates IS chemical weapon usage

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has told the Security Council on he's planning to set up a three-person team to investigate alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

The move came amid new reports of a mustard gas attack in Syria that local activists said could have been carried out by Islamic State jihadists.

The investigative panel will seek to identify who is behind the attacks, in line with a UN resolution adopted this month to establish responsibility for the use of the banned toxic agents.

Ban described the panel's mission in a seven-page letter and will await the council's green light before launching a recruitment drive for top experts to carry out the mission.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said earlier this week it had treated civilians suffering from apparent exposure to a chemical agent in Marea, a town near the northern city of Aleppo, following an attack last week.

The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said its own doctors had identified the agent as mustard gas.

Nearly two weeks ago, reports emerged that IS jihadists in Iraq may have used mustard gas against Iraqi Kurdish fighters.